Superman: Man of Tomorrow
by warriorfist
Summary: For Clark Kent, it feels like he has been Superman forever. However, he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Over the course of 24 hours, Superman has to deal with metahuman terrorists, refugees from other dimensions and dangers from alternate timelines. It's a very busy day for us mere mortals, but for Superman, it's another Wednesday.
1. 5:21 AM

_Wednesday_  
 _August 22, 2018_  
5:21 AM

How long has been it since I slept more than one hour a day? I barely remember.

It feels like I have been Superman since forever.

"Clark," Lois muttered, half awake, half slurring.

"Yes?"

Lois stirred, checking the alarm clock by her bedside table.

"You are late."

I smiled. Lois was nothing, if not taciturn and punctual.

"I was waiting for you," I said. "You looked peaceful today."

"Thanks. Must be the bags under my eyes."

Lois stared, poker-faced. She looked cute when she did that. She looked old, too, older than she liked. Her micro-expressions told me a story her words never could.

I am already twenty seconds late. But it's 5:25 AM. Lois needed me for another minute or two.

The world could wait.

"Since you are still here, you might as well be useful," Lois smirked, fetching her laptop and powering it up. "Do some speed reading, Smallvile. Tell me what you think of today's pages 5 and 6."

She is two months away from completing her third year as the Planet's City Editor. She takes it just as seriously as Bruce does with his own Gotham beat.

She needed to be, to compete with CNN and online publishing. Jimmy and Cat chafed under her reigns at times, but they knew what they signed up for when they chose to cover urban crime under Lois Lane's watch.

I looked at the drafts. I felt a quiet pride going over the headlines. Manaheim, inner city squalor, sectarian violence and domestic abuse. Gnarly stuff, as usual. But these were problems that required human collaboration, and human ingenuity, to solve.

Every time the headlines were less about metahuman fisticuffs and more about solving the city's problems, I felt like I was doing my jobs right, as both Clark Kent and Superman.

"Good stuff, "I said, typing quickly, but not fast enough to ruin her keyboard. "I underlined three typos. Cat shouldn't have missed those."

Lois' lips twitched. She thought of smirking, but decided against it.

"I also included some comments about future angles your team can pursue..." I looked at Lois' clock. 5:26 AM. "I should get dressed."

Lois nodded, smiling. Her face looked less worrisome, and her vitals were a touch better.

Her day was off to a good start.

"Before you go," Lois said, rising from her bed, staring bewilderingly as I got dressed at super speed. "Dad asked about our plans for the weekend."

I laughed. "It's Dad now? Not Sam or General Lane?"

Lois' lips frayed. "He's turning over a new leaf. Or so he says. For once, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt."

I nodded. I trusted Sam Lane, but Lois didn't, to put it lightly.

"We could try Saturday. The Thai place?"

"He hates Thai. Japanese, on 8th Jurgens St. That would be better."

Lois pulled on her sleeping gown, heading towards the washroom.

"Sure. That's Sekigahara. Good reviews. 2 PM?"

I straightened the edges of my cape, frowning when I noted the faint scuff marks. Zod and his heat vision. Synonyms for overkill, that's what they are.

Lois turned, nodding. "2 PM it is."

"Thanks," I headed towards our balcony, opening the sliding glass door. "See you at 9."

The metropolis skyline was dim and hazy, populated by a stray drone or two. The skies looked clear, and there were no rain clouds in sight for the next hundred miles. I focused, surveying my flight path, spotting the distant sun rising in a small town in Philly. Three hours left till sunrise in Metropolis.

I looked up at the sky, and smiled.

The electromagnetic spectrum flashed for a second before fading away. Sounds blared in random spikes, before stabilizing. All I heard was my heartbeat. Thumpa thumpa thump. Like a raging superbull from Thanagar.

I lifted off and jumped upwards. Once I cleared Johns Tower, I began my upward thrust. Air resistance prickled against my skin, before turning into a burning sensation. My tactile shield activated a moment later, and all I felt afterwards was a cool, tingly breeze.

I wish I could write a book on mastering superhero flight. It's easy to start flying, but doing it efficiently is another thing entirely.

I started humming Hall and Oates' You Make My Dream Come True. At subsonic speed, that's a hum that only I and a few dozen others can recognize. I looked over my shoulder, spinning and changing my orientation as I ascended past the troposphere.

Metropolis looked good today. It always did, but today, it felt especially good.

I looked at my brownstone for a second, accidentally taking a peek at Hannah Cross cuddling with her highschool sweetheart, Ram Forrester.

Hannah is a good person. She hits the bottle a little hard every once in a while, but she's doing well in the MTA. I rented my old brownstone out to Hannah almost five years ago. Can't believe it's been five years since Jimmy and I celebrated Krypto's first birthday in our room.

It's probably been just as long since I moved in with Lois. We bought the penthouse two months after she got the editor job. How long had I been Superman by then?

I still couldn't remember. It didn't matter. I looked back at our penthouse. I caught a glimpse of Lois going through her morning workout routine. She will be heading out for jog in an hour or so.

Time for me to start my workout, too.

I kicked my thrust into overdrive. A controlled sonic boom exploded in the distance. At an acceleration of 500 miles per second squared, everything looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. Then my senses overcame inertia and caught up, slowly, over the next five seconds. Blues and whites flooded my eyes before giving way to a black backdrop. The deafening roars of split clouds and passing jetliners trumpeted my ear drums. Adrenaline flowed like mercury from my head to toe.

When it finally came, the weightlessness of space felt like an old friend. The familiar ball of flame floated majestically towards my north, and the arms of distant Andromeda twinkled like stars.

I don't know if I can keep doing this superhero thing forever. But if I know one thing, it's that I will never get tired of flying.

Up, up and away.


	2. 5:26 AM

**5:26 AM**

Lieutenant Byrne's glanced at her commander, Colonel Jurgens, before resuming her task. Maintenance work was supposed to be routine, but Byrne never felt tired working with solar arrays. She was working on the eighth array, or Bernie as she liked to call it in her head. Along with it's seven twins, Bernie had the gargantuan task of powering the International Space Station.

She paused her work to check on Jurgens. He was floating around the base of the array, looking over the horizon. The elastic cord connecting the two astronauts was barely visible.

Byrne smirked. "Is this a whole ritual for you, Bob?"

"Yep."

"Why drop by every week, though? Doesn't he have Justice League business to attend to?"

"This _was_ Justice League business, a couple of years ago."

Byrne's interest was piqued. "What was it?"

"It's classified."

"Brainiac? The Sinestro Corps? Luthor?"

"You can keep throwing names. It's still going to be classified."

"Fine by me, Bob."

Byrne resumed her task. The circuits looked alright, but then again there was a whole two thousand square meters of wiring that could be meticulously checked over the next few hours. She had logged only ten hours and change worth of space time so far. She wondered how long Superman had spent out here. Probably weeks, if not months.

"How many times has he been here already, Houston?"

"Two hundred and forty one, Lieutenant."

"Oh. At least he is consistent. I wonder if this gets old for him. It's already getting a little old for me."

Jurgens sighed into his mouthpiece. "How long has it been, Nina? Three months?"

Byrne floated farther across Bernie's length, pulling Jurgens in tow. "Give or take."

"Three months, and you are already desensitized with everything."

"Nah. I am still in love with Bernie, aren't I?"

"What about that boyfriend back in Seattle?"

Byrne frowned.

"The jury is still out on that front."

Long distance relationships weren't supposed to be easy, but she had never experienced those hardships before in all the years she had spent in San Francisco and Houston. As understanding as Scott had been, something just changed since she came to space. It's as though the extra two fifty miles between them shed a new light on their relationship.

"Well Nina, c'est la vie," Bob said, as though reading her mind. "Did I ever tell you what happened on my last tour? I was blowing kisses to Mrs. Jurgens every time I came out here, but then I went down, took a plane to Maine, and found out that she was-"

"Sleeping with a professional Matt Bomer impersonator. Yes, Bob, you have told me this before."

Bob laughed softly. "Yeah, yeah. Why Matt Bomer of all people though? Isn't that guy gay?"

"You better ask Dori about that, Bob."

"Uh-huh. Will do. Houston, what's Big Blue's status?"

Mission control chimed in through the radio. "Still in the stratosphere, Commander. ETA: one minute."

"Copy that."

Byrne continued to survey the array. The sensors said everything was fine, but she wanted to be sure. Truth be told, everything was fine, but she liked spending the extra time out here. She liked the ISS' microgravity environment and mingling with the other astronauts. But at day 95 of her ISS stay, she had learned all she wanted to learn about everyone's personal and social lives.

Byrne was never a social butterfly back on Earth. She came all the way out here because she wanted to escape people. That's the main problem with the world, she had always maintained. It's other people.

"Oh," Jurgens exclaimed. "Look at that!"

Nina turned. A blue blur twinkled in the distance. It sped towards them, like the smallest comet in existence, an effusive trail of red wisps billowing behind its trail.

And then, just like that, Superman was in front of them.

Strangely, he looked both more impressive and more mundane in real life.

"Bob!" Superman said, floating towards the two astronauts. "I didn't keep you waiting for long, did I?"

"Not at all. Actually, I think you are early. Houston, how long did it take for him to get here?"

"Forty-five seconds, commander."

"Hah!" Jurgens guffawed. "I should have bet against that with Engineering. You guys need better orbital tracking."

Superman grinned. "Subliminal speeds, Bob. I wish you could try it some time."

"Oh, don't we all," Jurgens motioned towards the station. "You sure you don't want to swing by and meet everyone else?"

"Maybe on a Saturday." Superman squinted, his irises glazed. He turned to and fro, slowly in a 180 arc. "How's Dori doing?"

"Fine, probably."

Superman smiled wryly, offering his hand to Byrne. "Maam, I didn't catch your name."

"Lieutenant Nina Byrne," Byrne shook Superman's hand. It felt like cold steel. "How are you talking? Nanotech?"

"Close. A mix of Kryptonian bioengineering and JL neuralnets."

"I see."

Byrne studied the man closely. He carried himself with grace and ease. It wasn't difficult to see why people compared him to Jesus, and why others were uncomfortable with such comparisons. Some metahumans were morons, and others were delusional, claiming to be Gods.

This man, however, was the closest thing to a God that Byrne had yet seen. Like Jesus, he had died and come back from the grave. But that knowledge didn't bother him. He was, at this moment, simply a professional. One who just happened to have superpowers.

"Bob, I am done with the sector scan. ISS is holding up well. Your blood sugar level, however, now that's alarming."

"I know!" Bob agreed solemnly. "Need a new diet and more cardio. How's your week been so far, big man?"

"It's been pretty quiet, actually. Weather's good, too, or as good as it can be, with global warming. If this keeps up, I might go on a summer vacation myself."

Byrne's curiosity got the better of her. "Where? The Andorran Mountains?"

Superman grinned again, from ear to ear. "The outskirts of the Lanikea Supercluster. It's been a while since I explored further than the Gloriana. The things I have seen in that galaxy...you wouldn't believe."

Byrne's heart warmed. "Try me."

"Blue stars that put Rigel to shame. Planets with lifeforms just beginning to gain sentience. Non-carbon based lifeforms. Ruins of planetary obelisks long lost to time. Archaeological records of languages that had three hundred and fifty nine words for love, and twenty three thousand synonyms for warfare."

Bob groaned. "Jesus, Blue. Don't tease us like that. We will never see any of that in our lifetimes."

Superman nodded pensively. "Perhaps. But who's to say?"

Byrne echoed his sentiment. "If not us, then maybe our grandchildren. Or their granchildren."

"You might not have to wait that long. Elon is getting us to Mars pretty soon. If we get a good handle on geopolitical and metahuman factors by the next decade, we could make it to Titan by 2040."

Byrne smiled. "You dream too easily, Superman."

"We all dream. Some of us have just forgotten how to."

Once again, Superman's eyes glazed over. When his gaze returned towards Jurgens and Byrne, he smiled at them, and at the five faces behind them, staring at him through a glass window.

"You guys should get back to your crew, Bob. See you next week. It was a pleasure meeting you, Nina."

"Likewise, Superman."

"Before you go, Blue, could you sneak me a Quarter Pounder the next time? I will you the cash."

"Hah! Sure. Actually, tell you what, I will get something for the whole crew. My treat. Decide on the menu and let me know via email."

Byrne laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Have a great day, Blue!"

"You too!"

Superman turned, jumping two hundred feet ahead, before disappearing in a red and blue blur.

Jurgens waved. Byrne wanted to join in, but decided against it.

Jurgens motioned Nina as he headed back towards the station. "So, what do you think?"

"He was...something. Are you sure a Quarter Pounder fits our safety codes?"

"Pfft. We will figure something out. Houston, can't we get some wriggle room for Quarter Pounders?"

"Let's see, Commander. You will be happy to know that this isn't the first request for Mickey Dee's in space."

Somehow, Nina wasn't surprised by that. Ray Kroc must be proud. "But will this be the first of those requests to be approved, Houston?"

"That's for us to know, and for you to find out."

Bob shook his head, as he waited for the door to open.

"Houston, you cheeky bastards..."

* * *

Nine trillion miles away, a portal opened in the middle of nowhere. A solitary figure floated out of it, surveying the desolate green skies. He looked across the horizon, and then beyond it. His sight pierced the veil of reality and saw the red oceans of the Bleed.

It felt surreal. Looking at a million different universes, a million different Earths.

A million different versions of himself.

Three universes were being born every second. However, there was no room for them on the Orrery of Worlds. For most of his life, that had been a good thing. Until it wasn't.

52 universes in a sea of quintillion universes. It had taken him forty years of hyperspace travel, but he was finally here.

"Time to get to work."


	3. 5:31 AM

_**5:31 AM**_

Conner turned off his alarm, grabbing his t-shirt from the nearby chair. He scratched his stubble absent-mindedly, whistling Imagine Dragons as he entered the washroom.

He stared into his reflection two seconds too long. He had seen that face for the last seven years, and he still wasn't sure if he looked more like Clark or like Lex.

He turned his attention to his Samsung smartphone, scrolling through his social media feeds. His friends were living the life. Malibu, Hollywood, the Andromeda Galaxy. And he was stuck here, pulling the remnants of Young Justice towards the future. What the future held for him, Cassie and the others, he didn't know.

"What would Clark say?" Conner asked his reflection, observing his facial movements as he applied shaving foam. They didn't betray any of the frustration brimming within, like a simmering cup of black coffee. Unlike the cup of joe, however, no bubbles popped on his face.

He pictured Clark, looking at him, blue eyes twinkling. He hated that stare, sometimes. It looked through his soul in a way that told him that yes, both of them were alone in the world, but at least they had each other.

He still wasn't sure what Clark was to him. Lex had always insisted that he was Conner's real dad, but Clark never acted like a dad around him. Which is ironic, considering how fond of kids he usually is.

Conner focused his gaze on the mirror, his eyes glowing red as they shaved his stubble with missile-like precision. Clark had taught him this, and while this had always felt like a rather crude way of shaving, he really hadn't found better alternatives.

That's what happens when you are one of the two surviving males of an entire race.

At least his stubble looked pretty cool, Conner thought, stuffing his own keys into his pocket. He checked his watch. 5:34 am. Almost time for the start of his own patrol.

He nodded at Krypto, who came running up to him as he exited the Kent home. Nuzzling Kyrpto's nose with affection, Conner rose upwards, surveying the terrain that surrounded him. It was Smallville, and there wasn't much to say about Smallville. Conner spotted Lana Lang nursing her belly in the safety of her home; he stifled the urge to wave her by as he flew above the Lang estate.

Krypto followed suit, his cape billowing loudly in the wind. He barked joyously; unlike Conner, he never grew tired of flying.

"Let's see how the rest of the world is doing, boy," Conner said, accelerating to supersonic speeds before blowing past Kansas state lines.

* * *

Kara was just getting started with her own rounds. She was finished with her initial scans, and now she was going through the Indian subcontinent with a fine comb, searching for any signs of robberies.

She caught a few domestic disturbances. By now, she was skilled and even tempered enough to handle them without killing or mailing assailants. It still boiled her blood when men raised their hands on women and little girls. But at least she wasn't screaming bloody murder when she was tossing them in the river.

That's a joke, by the way. She can't really toss human beings into water without anything to grab onto. That's why she fetched a stray log of wood from the Sundarbans before promptly dropping it into the Ganges. She took a minute to survey her handy work, hovering over the men trying to hang onto the log for dear life.

She smiled surreptitiously, before recoiling in disgust; she caught one of the men leering, eyes big as saucers trained on her thighs.

Guess she was asking for it, given the provocative nature of her uniform. Maybe she should have covered her midriff and wore a longer skirt. But she had tried that, and it didn't help in the least bit.

She tutted at the ogling gentlemen softly, carrying the log onto the nearby road. She asked a passer-by where the nearby police station was. Unfortunately, the passer-by was mortified at the sight of a flying white woman in Kanpur. He turned and fled.

Kara wondered what she had done wrong. Didn't enough people recognize the S shield by now?

She wondered what Kal would have done in this case. Well, he wouldn't have to deal with men ogling at him from dawn to midnight; nor would he have to decline marriage proposals from his fan mails.

Kara used her supersight to find the nearest police station. She grabbed a stray copper wire from a nearby dustbin, wrapping it around the men tightly. She took to the air once again, grabbing onto the wire tightly as she carried the four men to the station. On the way, she saw a group of boys playing dangerously close to train tracks.

"Hey! Be careful, would you? The next train's just one minute away!"

True to form, train whistles sounded off in the horizon, and before long the hazy form of a passenger train appeared, its lengthy form snaking through the tracks.

The boys hurriedly backed away, and watched the train whoosh by, the tracks rattling at the sheer speed of the locomotive.

Kara dropped her captives at the gates of the station. Understandably, the officer in charge of the station was startled to see Supergirl appear in his station with four men tied up with electric wiring. Thus Kara had to explain everything in detail.

"This man," Kara pointed to the short, scrawny man in the middle, "he was beating his wife with a paddle. Then this man, he was strangling his fiancee, because her family couldn't afford to pay the dowry. And then this man-"

"Slowly please, ma'am. I need their names and addresses."

"Sure!" Kara turned towards the men, all smiles. "Gentlemen, please tell him your names and addresses."

"I don't understand English, sorry," one of them said in his native Hindi.

"Toh apne vasha mein unko bataw, please," Kara insisted. "Aapka naam or paataa."

The man gulped, and complied. The other three followed suit.

"Ma'am, we appreciate your help, but only one of these men are in my jurisdiction," the officer explained. "You need to go to three other stations to sort them out."

"I see! Alright, I will be back in five minutes."

Kara disappeared in a blur, and three of the men did as well. The man who remained was still white with fear.

"Kabir, that's your name right?" the officer said, taking a good look at the man's face before returning his gaze to the FIR.

"Yes sir. Sir, can you please tell me one thing?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"Sir, am I dreaming?"

"No. No you are not."

"Sir, are you dreaming?"

"If this was my dream, Kabir, things would have been pretty different."

"How so?"

"For one, I wouldn't be stuck talking with a wife beater, waiting for an American superhuman who's dropping off three other men like you in Varanasi. My dreams are pretty wild sometimes, but this is a lot more random than that. And also a bit depressing, too."

"I see."

The man lowered his gaze, silently contemplating his fate. "Sir, is there any way to help me?"

"You can ask your wife about it, when she gets here."

The rest of the wait passed by in silence. The officer's subordinates soon returned, crossing ts and dotting is before carrying Kabir off to his new cell. Before long, Kara returned, true to her word. What's more, she was carrying two flasks of hot tea.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting, officer! Here you go, some good chai for your troubles."

The officer nodded, cautiously grabbing the handle of the offered flask. He unstoppered the cup, holding it out, looking at the tea with a scrutinizing gaze. Once he was satisfied, he poured some of it out, drinking it at his own leisurely pace.

"This is some damn good tea, ma'am."

"It is! I found this great tea stand in Keystone City. I know it's a bit different from what you find here at home, but I thought you might like it. I bought a spare too, in case you want to take some of this home."

"I am flattered, ma'am."

"Please, call me Kara."

"Alright, Kara. I am Akash," the officer said, offering his hand. Kara took it, shaking vigorously.

"You are doing good work, Akash. Let me know if you need any more help with this, or with anything really. You can always reach out to me via Twitter or Instagram. If it's anything serious, you can also drop a mail off at karazorel ."

"That's very generous of you. Please don't let us keep you here, though."

"Not at all, Akash! I am just getting started with my shift. Hope you have a good day."

Kara was gone again. For good, Akash hoped. He appreciated the help, but this was going to create a lot more paperwork than needed. That's what bureaucracy does for you.

Akash wondered if it was always this easy for the supers. Done with everything in a zip and a flash.

He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do what the supers did as a dayjob. If he had powers like Superman, he would check out for the rest of the day and take his wife on a vacation to Shimla.

It was good, perhaps, that he didn't have those powers. These abilities required people who could handle a lot of responsibility, and he was pleased that Kara was, seemingly, one of them.

"Well that's enough excitement for one day," Akash said, to no one in particular, returning his attention towards his desktop PC, scrolling through the police feeds, searching for new updates.

* * *

Clark was flying towards the sun at breezing subliminal speeds. The electromagnetic spectrum was open to his eyes, and he was looking at sights no human eyes had seen, deciphering information no human ears had heard.

He was right on time for his daily sun bath. Within three minutes, he would diving into the boiling seas, the fires tickling his flesh with energy as he traversed the depths, piercing through the surface and speeding towards the core.

But wait! Before he could make it, Clark spotted the faint outline of a spaceship, straining weakly against the brilliance of the sun. What were they doing here, so close to the Sun?

"Conner, Kara, I need you guys. On my way to the sun. There's a vessel out here that's rescuing."

"You had me at sunbath, Kal," Kara responded. "I will be there in three minutes."

"That sounds great, Kara," Conner said, "But Clark, I am running a bit late with Cassie. We ran into his monster in the Andamans, and he has been keeping us busy for the last few minutes. Be there in five."

"Right. See you then, Conner."

Kara giggled, and to Clark's hearing, it was as though she was laughing right into his ears.

"What's so funny, Kara?"

"No, I just always find it funny how he calls you Clark and you call him Conner. I mean, why bother with two syllables? Kal and Kon are easier to pronounce, too."

Clark sighed, before chuckling softly to himself. "It's an Earthling thing, Kara. You would have to be from here to understand."

"That's not fair, you know," Kara pouted. Clark looked behind him, spotting a trail of effusive blue heading towards him.

"What isn't fair?"

"This 'I have been on Earth longer than you are' shtick. I have been here for almost eight years already."

"It's not about how long you have been here. It's a mindset, Kara. You know, how New Yorkers always look out for other New Yorkers? It's a bit like that."

Kara huffed. "Well, New Yorkers aren't all nice though. One of them called me a tourist once. Along with not so nice things."

Conner appeared a few seconds later. By then Clark was a few seconds away from the sun, and Kara was trailing right behind him. "So…what did I miss, guys?" Conner asked.

"Apparently, Kara doesn't have much love for New Yorkers."

"Sucks to be her, then. New York is, well, New York. You really don't need to say more than that."

"Hey! You should come visit Argo City some time. Yes, it doesn't have the Empire State Building but it's also the only place on Earth where you can meet actual living Kryptonians!"

"Sure Kara, I will be thrilled to meet with some living fossils," Conner countered, grinning lopsidedly at her as he drew level, his black and red trail contrasting with the red and blues of Clark and Kara. "But you know what? They might actually have a better chance of survival than…whatever that is right there."

Clark couldn't help but agree. The spaceship, which looked human made, was sinking through the sun's surface. It looked like some weird cross between a bowling ball and a Land Rover, as though it wasn't entirely sure if it wanted to be a space ship or a SUV.

What made things even worse was the sheer size of the thing. It was easily as big as two full moons.

"You know, this could be like the perfect scene. For a movie. Like, they could remake the Titanic, but in space," Kara offered, swooping down and grabbing hold of the spaceship's exterior. She focused most of her strength into her grip, pulling gingerly at the vessel's metallic surface so that it didn't tear under pressure.

"That's not the best metaphor to think of, Kara," Clark said, joining Kara by her side, skirting slowly opposite to her before applying his strength. "The Titanic didn't make it across the Atlantic."

"I know. That's why they need to remake the movie. Jack needs to live. These guys need to live, Kal."

Clark nodded. "I know. Conner, can you get into the sun and hoist this up from the bottom?"

Conner scoffed in disbelief. "You do remember that I am only half Kryptonian, right?"

"You have a lot more heart than you give yourself credit for, young man," Clark assured, smiling.

"There you go again, Clark. With that smile of yours. That's going to kill me one day."

Conner sighed before diving into the sun. He grunted as the flames tore away at his shirt, his jeans starting to burn. By the time he resurfaced, his flesh was singed and his face was slightly red.

"That wasn't fun," Conner stated, before pushing the spaceship up with his back. He grunted, his shoulder muscles straining. "I am starting to think you should have called for more backup, Clark."

"No time for that," Clark said, channeling the last few bits of reserve into his hands. He was running low on solar energy. At such levels, this was almost all he could do. "Got to trust ourselves."

Clark smiled when he saw Krypto appear on the horizon. The dog lapped at his face, before biting on to the spaceship's exterior and pushing firmly against it with its paws.

"You know, this would have been the perfect time to take a group selfie or something. The super family in action, and so on and so forth," Kara said, beads of sweat pouring down her head. "Also, I concur with Conner. There are three hundred people trapped in here. I am reaching out to J'onn. He can connect us to Hal and the Lanterns."

Clark grimaced. "Go ahead, Kara. But I have a feeling we won't need their help."

Clark grunted before diving into the sun again, pummeling his way into the solar core. The fires surged through his veins and nerves, empowering them. His mind came alive, neurons firing like a city turning on its lights at midnight. His body surged with renewed solar energy, like a foundry of limitless potential. With this much strength, Clark felt like he could take on anyone and anything.

With a mighty grunt, Clark resurfaced, shoving the spaceship away from the sun. Conner let go, as did Kara and Krypto.

"Look at that d'ast bastard. Taking all the glory for himself," Supergirl said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Do you want to be that, though?" Conner said, pointing towards Clark, who was already repairing some of the damage with his laser vision. "When's the last time he really slept?"

"I don't know, Kon," Kara said, zooming towards her cousin, joining his trail as he entered the spaceship. "I don't know."

Clark spotted a green fireball speeding past the Earth, fast approaching their location. J'onn J'onzz and the Green Lanterns had arrived.

Clark nodded at J'onn, who grinded to a halt. He was soon joined by Hal, Simon and Jessica. The trio of Green Lanterns shon brightly, and their light illuminated the alien interiors far and side.

"Alright Clark," Hal said, taking charge of the situation, "What are we walking into here?"

"Something man made," Clark said, scanning the area around him. "I recognize the architecture and wiring. But some thing's off."

"They are humans alright," J'onn said, his head morphing slightly, expanding to connect with the passengers onboard. "But they are from three hundred years in the future."

"I wouldn't have guessed we would make it that far," Simon said, staring dumbfoundedly at the strange devices in front of him. "Good to know we don't kill ourselves off anytime soon."

"This might as well be a different future, Simon," Jessica explained. "You know, different timelines?"

"Yeah, like this could be, like…Future Trunks, you know? From Dragonball?" Conner offered. "When he came back and gave Goku the heart medicine."

"That would be kinda fun, wouldn't it?" Clark asked. Linked with J'onn's mind, he was scanning through the surface of the passengers' minds.

Something wasn't right. These minds didn't feel as befuddled as he expected them to be. People don't feel just mindly inconvenienced when they are sinking into the sun.

"I don't know. This kinda feels played out," Kara said. She was scanning the memories of the passengers at a more measured pace, trying to peace together what brought them here. "Right, good news, bad news time, everyone."

J'onn suppressed a smile. As the League's main telepath, he was used to knowing people's minds before they spoke them. "You really think it's like that, Kara?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Kara replied. "Look at their emotion levels. If they were here to warn us about something, there would be more of a sense of urgency about them. Instead…"

"They are… excited?" Hal asked. "Why?"

"To meet all of you, of course!" A voice bellowed within the mental network J'onn had created. "Please wait where you are. We will join you shortly."

A gust of wind blew through the ship, as a white hovercar shot through the air, a trail of smaller airbikes following its trail. The hover car skidded to a halt in front of Clark. The door opened, and a strange, bony looking man stepped out, clutching a large, transparent tablet. His foppy hair was parted midways, and the way he stared at everyone reminded Clark about Lex, for some strange reason. Like Lex, his gaze was riddled with calculated intent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Leo Quintum. I am from the twenty fourth century. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Leo bowed, and Clark returned the gesture. "You need to be more careful when putting in transtemporal coordinates, Leo. You don't want to end up inside the Red Spot when you return back home."

"Of course, of course. This is our first time travel session, you see. It's normally forbidden, but we just couldn't help ourselves."

"You just had to see it for yourselves, didn't you?" Kara asked, a hint of irritation laced in her words.

"See what, Kara?" Clark asked. He was getting a bit annoyed at all the wordplay going around there. This could be the start of something big, and he felt that Kara and J'onn were taking things too lightly.

"I think it's best if Quintum explains it."

"Yes, yes! Allow me to explain. But first, you must join us for breakfast. It's almost time!"

Clark looked to his right, spotting the large Daxamite wall clock he had hung on the second room in his Fortress of Solitude. It read 06:53.

Clark shrugged. This day had barely started, and it had already gotten pretty weird, pretty fast.

He turned towards the rest of them, the barest signs of a frown quivering mirthlessly on his lips. "Right, guys. Let's join Leo and his people for breakfast."

"Yaay," Kara said, raising her arms in mock excitement.

Conner simply rolled his eyes. "This better be some good news. I can't handle another Superboy Prime situation."

Clark nodded. Superboy Prime. Now that was a name he hadn't heard in a while.

Somehow, Clark knew in his bones that what waited for him today was something much, much worse.

And he was right.


	4. 6:01 AM

6:01 AM

Luthor picked up his coffee mug. His eyes were fixed on the image on his wall television.

It was a clip of him doing a town hall discussion in Jackson, Mississippi. He wondered what others thought when they looked at him. Power, strength, stability?

He wondered if they ever thought of the word 'honesty' when they thought about Alexander Luthor. Because he never lied about the kind of person he was, or what he wanted to do.

He was the youngest senator in American history, and the world's third richest man. He met with Gates and Buffet on weekends, when either of them could afford it, and golfed with Obama when he was president. As a Democrat, he had to steer clear of the current POTUS due to convention. But he appreciated what the man represented, in terms of setting precedents.

It was time businessmen had a go at running the country. A pity that he was playing for the other team.

"Hello Mr. Luthor. My name is Emily Sands Could you elaborate more on your Humans First position?"

Luthor nodded, smirking politely. He took the mike from Michael Moore, ignoring the disapproving stares from the other hosts.

"Thanks Ms. Sands for your question. I understand that there are many misgivings about my position on metahumans, but you will have to be a bit more specific."

"Could you elaborate on the measures that will be taken to ensure that privacy and security of superhuman operatives will not be compromised?"

Luthor nodded, his fingers pressed against his lips. He looked at the crowd: some hundred and twenty millennials, with a few older people thrown in for good measure.

"I have the utmost trust in our government, and the agencies that are sworn to its service. We are supposed to treat metahumans as any other normal human. And as such, they will receive the same kind of protection afforded to every other American."

Michael Moore twisted his underlip, dimples forming. He gestured for another microphone, and once he had received it, he leaned in, one leg folded over another.

"I think what the young lady was trying to say, Lex, is why are you running on a platform that's essentially built because you decided on a Tuesday that Superman can't be trusted? You are essentially risking your political career for a personal vendetta that serves no one but yourself.

You say that you have changed, but it doesn't seem like that to me."

Lex smiled, the kind of smile that a Mako Shark sports when its hunting prey. "That's very kind of you, Michael. I don't know if I have changed, because I have been working on the same issues for most of my life. I am glad you mentioned Superman, but let's be clear, the only reason we meet and converse so often is because, well, he chooses to drop by my penthouse in Metropolis every other weekend. Maybe he likes me more than you think? But enough about him.

The problem with framing a rhetoric around one individual is that it conveniently sidesteps the larger issue. If you haven't noticed that this world has changed, and not always for the better, in the last couple of decades, then maybe you haven't been paying attention.

Somewhere down the way, we stopped looking to ourselves for solutions and started depending upon others to help us. Why do we have to look up to men wearing capes? They aren't treating this seriously. These are our lives, and we don't trust cosplayers with our lives, do we?

As good as this long era of vigilantism has done for us, it has, perhaps, done a lot more harm to our moral fiber. Our inspirations have been infected. Since when did we stop looking at the stars and started looking up to big green men? Why do we need aliens to help us defend our turf?

I am sure many of these gentlemen, women and everything in between are perfectly fine individuals. But the fact remains that the metahumans have upended world order on a level unprecedented in human history. There are good metahumans and bad metahumans, just the same as humans. But we don't need the "good" metahumans, the ones we call superheroes, help us out by being judge, jury and executioner. That's something that we have to do on our own. That's why we have courts.

What's so wrong with America that we need the Green Lanterns Corp to help us? Why do we need the help of alien authorities to deal with dangers that are earthly in origin?

Metahumans have lived with us for at least a hundred years if not more. Clearly, they are here to stay. But they have their own problems to deal with. I am sure all the attacks by Brainiac, Darkseid and Sinestro happened because they had personal issues with some of these heroes. Doesn't that strike you as ridiculous? Is our life as absurd as a comic book?

Superman might a be good man, Michael. He might be the best man there is. I doubt that, but for the purpose of this discussion, let's hold that assumption. Even if Superman is better than Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter. Because Superman, this Kal El, he isn't Jesus Christ. Superman isn't God. And thus he is accountable to all of us like every other representative of our local and federal authorities.

There are a million things wrong with us, Michael. But I believe that we can solve those problems ourselves. We can do better by ourselves. It's what I have worked on during my time as a businessman, and what the fine people at Luthor Corp are doing now that I have seceded control. We can solve the problems of gun control, of immigration and of terrorism by ourselves. And then we have to go out and explore the cosmos, and see what exactly everyone else is fighting over out there.

Humans are adaptable. I believe that we can ascend past our limitations, like we have done every time before. But to do that, we need to focus on ourselves. And that means putting humanity first, and everyone else a distant second. The Kryptonians have Krypton, or at least they had it, as far as I know. The Thanagarians have Thanagar, and The Green Lanterns have Oa. It's time to declare that the Earth is for humans, and all visitors, no matter how long they have been here, must eventually leave.

I mean, they can always come back here on a visa," Luthor paused, chuckling, letting the audience laugh with him. "But that process should be official and by the books too."

Luthor paused the video. He had seen more than enough. The next question was about the Mueller investigation, and although he had given a pretty entertaining answer to that, he wasn't interested in reliving that experience.

He had found the clip on Reddit, in the r/humansfirst subreddit. It was populated by thousands of people who shared his own sentiments, and it was fast growing. He snickered when he browsed upon a comment that wondered if Lex lurked on the sub.

He did more than just lurk. He was getting enough data off Reddit to model a working simulation of the American voting population. Of course, he could do that in his sleep, but he appreciated the human interaction, nonetheless.

Luthor continued to work in silence, reading economic reports and making some routine plays in the NYSE, shorting the stocks of a clothing manufacturer whose factory in Bangladesh had just gone up in flames. He wondered if he should feel pity. Perhaps, he should at least try.

"Mercy, can you see if we can do a meet and greet event for the victims of that factory fire in Dhaka?"

Mercy stepped inside, her eyes squinting.

"Is that something that we really need, Mr. Luthor?"

"Depends on who you are asking. Lex Luthor doesn't have much to gain from a photo op in the middle of nowhere. Senator Luthor, however..."

Mercy perked up when she realized Luthor was letting the words hang for her benefit.

"...Senator Luthor has much to gain, since he can show that he cares about external shareholders, no matter who they are and where they come from."

"Yes, clever girl. Give yourself a raise."

"I would rather not, but I will take that under consideration. You ready yet for your run at 6:15?"

Luthor took a look at himself. He was bare-chested, and all he wore downwards were boxers and socks. He looked for his clothes lazily; he grabbed hold of his trousers upon finding them. He lowered them before putting them on, one leg at a time.

"I should give you some privacy when you get dressed," Mercy said, moving towards the door.

"I am almost done," Luthor insisted, putting on a pair of sneakers before grabbing a shirt.

"You still need to let me know if you are going to Kansas, by the way."

"To Kansas?" Luthor asked, pausing. "What for?"

"Your sister's son is sick."

"Send her a fruit basket or something."

"He has stage IV cancer, Lex. Apples aren't going to help him."

Luthor's eyes wandered. He drew on his jogging shirt, and as he fastened his smart watch, he wondered if he could help Lena's son.

"What type of cancer, Mercy?"

"Lung cancer."

"That's a difficult one. Luthor Corp is probably ten years away from finding a cure. Schedule a few appointments with a few independent researchers, Mercy. The ones who actually know what they are doing."

"I wasn't asking about that, Lex. I was asking if you were going to go and meet your sister. Who is probably about to lose her son."

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," Luthor rhymed, limbering up as he prepared for his run. "You say that as if I am some monster. Schedule a week long visit, about four or five days from now. Whenever I am less busy."

Mercy nodded, tapping away at her phone. "That's very generous of you. Bryan will be happy to see you too."

"He better be. I am probably going to save his life."

"In five days?"

Luthor smiled, as wide as he could. He wondered if it was wide or as charming as Superman's was. "Please. I will do it in three."

Mercy took a deep breath, angling away to let Luthor pass. She looked at the state of his office, which looked neat to the untrained eye, but was, in reality, brimming with chaos. That made sense, since almost everything in Luthor's was in a similar state; balanced, but ready to explode at a moment's notice.

Mercy moved towards the living room, but found it empty.

"You are early, by the way," Mercy said, to no one in particular. It was just like Lex, after all, to come and go as he pleased.

* * *

"I trust that everything is to your liking?" Quintum asked. Clark nodded, eyeing his Justice League teammates.

"I am not really a foodie, Leo. But Hal is."

"And so is Jessica," Hal said, pointing to his colleague, who dimpled awkwardly. "Honestly, I have had better."

"Yeah, we have definitely had better space food," Jessica said, finishing her meal.

"Better future food too," Conner chimed in, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin.

"We will take your feedback under consideration," Leo noted. He turned to his left, looking up at a pale, willowy woman who was, to Clark's estimation, at least seven feet tall, if not taller. "Deena, make sure we do a proper eval of our food by next week."

"Of course, Leo."

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, can we please discuss why you travelled here from the future?" Clark asked firmly, leaning in.

"Of course, of course. Deena, if you would be so kind as to begin the presentation."

Deena nodded. An underling came to her side, holding a pill box. "Thanks Heelo. Please distribute the memory pills to the gentleman and women."

"Memory pills?"

"Yeah. It's going to be pretty exciting," Leo said. "We calibrated the dosage so that they don't get too overwhelming for your minds."

Deena and Heelo went to each member of the Justice League, handing out the pills and glasses of juice and water. "Do you guys have cranberry juice?" Kara asked, scrutinizing the pill in her hand intensely.

"No, but we have something that tastes like Cranberry juice," Deena replied.

"I will take it," Kara said, waiting for Heelo to come back with a new glass. Once it was there, she took the glass, holding on to it patiently as she awaited instructions.

"Alright, you guys should take your pills..." Leo paused for dramatic effect. "Right about now."

Clark downed his pill with water. His mind exploded with information; the data multiplied in his head triple fold every ten picosecond, and then stopped, settling in, guiding his mind towards understanding.

"Everyone doing okay?" Clark asked.

"I don't know, Clark. This feels like three Hiroshimas in my head," Hal said. Simon grunted affirmatively in response. "But I am getting the gist of this."

"What are all these images, guys?" Kara asked. The playfulness in her voice was gone.

Clark gulped. His mind was struggling to understand the scale of destruction he was seeing.

"How many wars did you guys have?" J'onn asked Leo, who laughed nervously.

"A few too many, obviously," Leo replied.

"Guy would have loved to be here, you know," Simon said, looking at the other Leaguers for direction. "I mean, it's sad, a lot of it, but it's kinda beautiful too."

"Death tolls in the trillions," Kara said, her face expressionless. "And that's in the first few years."

Clark heard what Kara was saying, but his mind was occupied elsewhere. He could see that someone was coming here, to his world, to do something. To take something perhaps, or to cause untold harm. He didn't really know.

"Leo, do you know who this is, or why he is coming here?" Clark asked, nursing his temple.

"I think we do. You need to look at the last few messages we received, after we investigated the distress signal. We know who this is. I think we all do."

Clark stood up from his chair slowly. Everyone turned to face him, because they too had realized who it was, and what this this was.

"J'onn, send out an alert. We need to move very fast. We need to move right now. Connect me to Bruce."

J'onn complied. In the space of less than a second, Clark's mind was conversing with Bruce's. It was as though both of them were standing in the batcave, both of them dressed in their uniforms.

"How?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know."

"When?"

"Right now."

"Who?"

Clark sighed. "We need you, Bruce."

"I will be there. Give me a moment."

Clark nodded. He waited patiently for Bruce to arrive. For his Kryptonian senses, it was taking Bruce an eternity to arrive.

And considering the threat they were facing, he wasn't sure if he had eternities to spare.

* * *

Lex paused, mid run. A giant shadow had appeared in front of him, and he knew enough about giant shadows to know what that meant.

"What can I do for you on this fine morning, Superman?" Luthor asked, looking up at the sky.

And sure enough, it wasn't a bird, or a plane.

It was Superman. The man glided down, his cape billowing gently in the wind.

"You look like hell," Luthor said. He wasn't wrong. The cape was scorched in several places. When Superman drew nearer Lex was surprised to see that he was sporting a five o clock shadow. "What happened to you?"

Superman sighed. "I could ask you the same, Lex. It's 2019. Less than a year away from the presidency. The things we did together. The things we will do together. I wish you knew."

There was a tiredness in the Kryptonian's eyes. Luthor didn't understand what was happening. Did Superman actually consider him a friend?

"You don't even know who I am, do you?" Superman asked.

"Kal-El. That's your name isn't it? Why is that important?"

Before Superman could answer, streaks of red slammed into him, carrying him off into the horizon. The Flash stopped for a few seconds by Luthor, while Wonder Woman and Batman materialized by his side.

"Did he do anything, Luthor?" Batman asked, his voice cold and unfeeling.

"No. That's not him, right? That's not the one we know."

"No. No, it isn't."

"How are you going to stop him?" Luthor asked.

Wonder Woman grimaced. "That's for us to know and for you to find out."

She drew her sword and shield, leaping off the ground, flying fast.

"Call your security detail, Lex," Batman said. "And get yourself somewhere safe."

Batman disappeared, teleporting elsewhere, leaving Lex to wonder what was happening, and where it was happening, too.

Whatever the case, he was probably going to hear about it on the TV if it lasted beyond five minutes.

"Houston, we have a problem," Luthor said, calling Mercy from his smart watch. "And his name is Superman."


	5. 7:03 AM

7:03 AM

Wally West did not see this coming. And that's more of a big deal than you think. Because Wally West is one of the fastest people alive. And because he can think faster than most people, he's also one of the smartest people alive.

He was supposed to be on vacation with his family. After returning to the land of the living three years ago, Barry had taken back his mantle. Wally was happy to let him. He loved being the Flash, but the stress was getting to him. Now that he wasn't the only Flash anymore, he could spend more time with Linda and the kids.

But where was he now? Running at superluminal speeds and throwing a punch at a Superman. Which is not how he saw this weekend going at all.

Throwing a punch at a Superman is harder than you think. His skin was protected by a kinetic barrier, picometres in width but stronger than steel. But that kinetic barrier field flickered, every now and then. It flickered especially when a Superman flew as fast as he could, which was almost as fast as any good speedster.

And this Superman, he was as good as they came. Maybe better.

"We could just talk, Wally," Superman said, glancing back at his pursuer. "You are probably getting pretty tired right now."

"Sure. We can talk," Wally replied. "But you need to stand down first. J'onn and the others probably have a lot of questions for you."

"I don't have the time on my hands to talk with the whole League, Wally. I won't be here for long. I need to use all the time that I have."

"Well, that's a pity. I am sorry, man."

"Sorry for what?"

"This."

Wally increased his speed a thousand fold, rapidly gaining on Superman. Before the Kryptonian could react, Wally drove his fist against the man's cheek as hard as he possibly could. At such speeds, his fist had enough mass to punch a hole into the strongest steel.

His punch landed, and for a moment, it was as though the Speed Force exploded with kinetic energy. A shower of blood burst from Superman's mouth, splashing past Wally's head, landing on his shoulder plates.

Superman's protective field flared to life immediately, jolting violently against Wally's fist. Newton's third law had sprung into action, but Wally, thankfully, was quicker than that. He could see the shockwaves reverberate through his wrist, moving towards his arm. With a deep breath, Wally rocketed straight into the Speed Force, phasing through Superman entirely. That hurt Wally a lot more than he had expected it to, but the moment he enveloped himself in the Speed Force, his injuries healed, disappearing in the space of three seconds.

But three seconds were eternities for a Flash as well, and by the time he returned, both Superman and Barry were gone. The only one still left was Jesse Quick, who had hung back to see if Wally was okay.

"You can't pull that stunt all the time, Wally," she chided. "People get lost in the Speed Force all the time."

"I am fine, Jesse. Any updates on our guest?"

"He shoved Barry pretty hard. He was sailing past the English Channel, last time I saw him. Barry's back on his trail though."

Wally nodded, before starting to run again. Jesse joined his side after two seconds.

He wondered what this Superman had gotten up to since he last saw the man a minute ago. Barry would know, probably. After all, Barry was the current fastest man alive. He had outrun the Black Racer himself.

Wally only hoped that Barry could outrun this Superman.

* * *

Elijah Snow inhaled slowly, holding his breath in for as long as he could. Eventually, he started feeling slightly light headed as the smoke tickled the roof of his mouth. He exhaled, watching the smoke disappear past the oxygen wall into the vacuum of space.

Snow was standing on the deck of the Carrier, home to Stormwatch. As far as sentient alien spaceships went, it was pretty alright. The pilot, who called herself the Engineer, had once interfaced Snow with the vessel's mind. What Elijah had found there could perhaps be best described as the mind of the world's biggest puppy. If Elijah found something similar to a snoot on the Carrier, he would make it a point to pet it.

Snow looked down at the Earth, which hovered directly below the glass floor. It looked hauntingly beautiful from up here. It also made Snow feel harrowingly old, and out of place.

"Still trying to kill yourself, old man?" Jenny Quarx said, fiddling with the e-cigarette stick in her hands.

"If I keep trying, maybe I will succeed one day. Who knows."

"You are 118 years old already. So maybe dying is not really an option anymore."

"At any rate, I have all of eternity to figure out. And you shouldn't be smoking that. You aren't Sparks. Stop trying to be her."

Jenny harrumphed, leaning against the railing. "Sparks is so last century, old man. I mean, she couldn't do this, could she?"

Quarks threw her right hand out, snapping her fingers. A hologram sprouted from her finger tips, instantly taking the shape of a shirtless man wearing abnormally high waisted black pants before dissolving into nothingness.

"Is that the sort of guys you are into nowadays, Jenny?"

"Uggh. No. It's a meme. I forget you didn't even watch the first Star Wars."

Snow smirked, his ageless visage barely wrinkling. "Never had the patience for that stuff. Too much melodrama."

Jenny groaned, before turning back towards the Carrier's interiors. "Come inside, Snow. It's cold out here."

"Just the way I like it."

"Suit yourself. Just remember, visiting hours are nearly over."

Snow nodded, grimacing. The rapport between Planetary and Stormwatch had been tenuous from the start. That's to be a given, especially considering that Planetary was charged with keeping strange things hidden and safe, while Stormwatch was tasked with building a better and stronger world altogether.

Before Jenny could leave, however, the Engineer arrived, her molecules separating from the Carrier's deck to assume her default, liquid metal shape. She was also accompanied by Jack Hawskmoor, who jumped out of an organic portal, teleporting from his native New York in the span of a minute.

"How bad is it, Angie?" Jenny asked, arms crossed.

"Category Nine. Extraversal excursion. Not sure if he's from this multiverse."

"It's a Superman, Angie," Hawksmoor added, scratching his stubble pensively. "There probably ain't guys like him in other multiverses."

"You never know, Jack," Quarx said. She looked at Snow, all trace of conviviality drained from her gaze. "You coming too?"

"Might as well. Because I literally have nothing to do."

"Right then. Door."

A bright yellow portal appeared, and Quarx walked through it, the others joining her as they travelled down to Earth through the hyperdimensional Bleed.

They resurfaced in a damp, dark hall, lit by flickering chandeliers swinging to and fro. Snow saw that other members of the main Stormwatch team were there as well. Apollo, Midnighter and Swift were standing near the Doctor, who was floating three fit above the ground, hands spread in a lotus position.

"Why the hell are we here, Angie?" Midnighter asked, glaring, his eyes bulging around his mask. "I thought we were supposed to fight a Superman today. I was rather looking forward to it."

"Dearie, I mean this in the best way, but you are writing a cheque that your body can't cash," Apollo stated gently, firm hand over Midnighter's shoulder.

"Please. Five minutes is all I need." Midnighter nursed his fist dangerously. Apollo simply smiled in response, shaking his head.

"Jerome found a trail of quantum narrative particles leaking from this place," Swift explained. "He's trying to find the source, so we can find out what happened."

"You say quantum narrative particles as though I am supposed to understand them," Jack said irritably. "In English, please."

"I can help there," Snow said. "Everything you know...and everyone you know, have stories to tell and follow. The universe works the way it does because there is something that makes the possibility of something happening high and the possibility of something else happening low. The stuff that makes that happen, that's what quantum narrative particles are.

I would love to discuss the specifics, but you would need to ask Drummer Boy about it. He is the one who understands everything."

"I would love to say that's the weirdest thing I heard this week, but it isn't, not by a country mile," Jenny said. She looked up at the Doctor, who was suppressing a smile. "You done there, Jerome?"

"Actually, yeah. I was kinda waiting for you guys to ask.

I would love to tell you what happened here, but it's best that I show you."

The Doctor walked north, a green flame dancing on his left hand, illuminating the way forward. As Snow followed him, he wondered if this was exactly a good idea, getting involved in Stormwatch business. Truth be told, he was too old to care.

And there was strangeness afoot, so that was more than enough incentive to keep him around.

"There. Do you see that?" the Doctor said, pointing. Snow squinted, seeing nothing but air.

"You need to be a little more specific, Jerome," the Engineer said, lips pursed and slanted.

"Ohh. Right. I forget that you guys don't see colors in 5D. Here, this should help."

The Doctor summoned a handful of extradimensional spices in his hands, and then threw it in front of him. They colored the air around them in brilliant ways, subtly revealing the ways the world was connected to the Bleed, which was itself connected to the fifth dimension.

Before Snow could understand what was happening, though, something huge sneezed with enough force to throw almost everyone off their feet. Only the Doctor, Swift and Apollo were left standing.

As the spices settled, Snow saw a huge, translucent eye staring at him and the others, turning away as the body attached to it moved further away from the group. If Snow didn't know any better, he would say that this was a whale. Or a ghost of a whale, at least.

"Guys, meet Leviathan. He's one of the handful of narrative engines that keep our reality well oiled and running. As you can see, he is a shy guy."

"He doesn't look too well," Jenny said, getting to her feet. Her hands glowed, taking on quantum characteristics as she flew, gently kneading the area around Leviathan's eye. "Is he sick?"

"Yes. He has...what can be best described as diarrhea," the Doctor explained, rubbing his neck. "You see this residue around his mouth? He vomited too. Expect things like politics and global affairs to be wonky for the rest of the day."

"Please don't tell me that Superman punched him really, really hard," Jenny said, frowning hard.

"I am sorry, Jenny. But Superman punched him really, really hard."

"How in hell did he do that?" Snow asked, his interest piqued.

The Doctor shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

Wally West's legs were hurting. He had been running nonstop for thirty minutes. For a Flash, that may as well be thirty years.

"Where did he go to next?" Wally asked Barry, who was still leading.

"I don't know. We have scoured most places on Earth already. We should have had him back in DC."

"Who in hell knew he could refract light? Our Superman can't do that," Jesse Quick said, panting as she kept up with the other two. She was looking our for Bart Allen, aka Impulse, who had broken off earlier to mobilize Young Justice.

"This Superman is a lot older, Jesse," Barry said, eyes narrow and slotted. "You haven't seen Clark like I have. He could barely outrace bullets when he first started out. Now he can outrun event horizons. God knows what this one can do now.

J'onn, it's been half an hour already. We need to regroup."

* * *

Half a world away, J'onn J'onzz complied, activating the teleporter to summon the rest of the active Leaguers to the watchtower. Wally sighed in relief when he got there, finally slowing down as he skidded to a halt.

Superman- their own Superman- was already there, quietly surveying the Earth past the windows. Wally wondered what was going through the man's head. He had fought Bizarro countless times before, and even Superboy Prime. But Superboy Prime was young and foolish. This future self was focused and intelligent. As intelligent as Clark was, if not even more.

"Alright everyone. Here's what's going on so far," Bruce said, pacing around the table. "Leo Quintum discovered a distress signal in the Bleed, two hundred years into the future. There, he found a warning in a wrecked spaceship, about an inescapable disaster that was sweeping across existence. There were some spacetime coordinates mentioned in the message, which pointed Quintum right here."

"Quintum's time remembers today's day as being monumentally important," Diana said, hands pressed against the table. "Little records of the twenty first century have survived, but what's left suggests that we have a big fight on our hands.

Now I personally don't know if this intruder is what we are supposed to be fighting. But if it is, then a battle he will have. Cyborg, we need to have all global defensive systems in high alert. And Bruce, we need to secure supplies of all the Kryptonite we can acquire as soon as possible."

"We are only going to subdue this individual, not poison him, Diana. As for my Kryptonite stock, it's not going to be of much help. I carbondated his blood. Good job on that by the way, Wally."

"Yeah, glad almost breaking my hand yielded good results," Wally stated, rubbing his sore knuckles.

"This Superman's physiology has evolved past the cellular weakness to Kryptonite," Bruce continued. "And he's almost two hundred years old. He's functionally immortal. We need to rely on strategy to win this one."

Clark finally turned away from the window, approaching the round table with calm resolve. "He is looking for something, Bruce. He isn't hear to hurt us."

"How can you be sure?"

"He could have hurt us plenty if he wanted to. The only thing he has really done so far is try to talk to Lex and hurt this Leviathan creature, from what Stormwatch told us. He has to answer for that, but that doesn't mean he is the enemy we are looking for."

"It's better to err on the side of caution, Clark. We have to do what's best for Earth."

"I know, Bruce. But you have to understand. He is alone. He is tired. I have been following his movements for the last hour. He thinks he is hiding his trail, but he isn't. There's a curvature in spacetime, every time he hits speeds beyond light speed. So far, he has come to and gone from Earth around a hundred times.

In that time, he has tried to reach Doctor Fate's helmet twice. Then he tried to drill his way to the Earth's core. He was probably looking for the White Lantern being sleeping inside the planet. It's almost like he's trying to reach something through these things.

He is running, yes, but only because we chased him. We need to slow down enough so that he can trust us."

Bruce stayed silent, expressionless. He turned towards the nearest door, turning his head towards Diana. "You take over the meeting. Clark and I will have a talk."

Bruce headed towards the next room, motioning Clark to follow him. "Look, Clark. Let's put our friendship aside for a moment. I respect you as a human being. But you have to understand something. You aren't infallible. Not even you."

"I never said I was infallible."

"You didn't. That doesn't stop you from acting like you are. You are right, Clark. He is alone. And that's what frightens me. He doesn't have anyone. No Ma or Pa. No Lois, no Conner, no Kara. He doesn't even have me.

Did you ever wonder, Clark, what you will do when it's time for Clark Kent to die? What happens when you finally get tired of pretending you are like the rest of us?"

"The rest of us? You just called me a human being, Bruce."

"Yeah. Because you are still Clark. One day it will be time for you to move on. And like it or not, that version of you has already done that. He's barely Superman anymore."

"If he wasn't Superman, Bruce, he wouldn't have worn the shield. That means something to me. That probably means something to him, too."

"Maybe. But maybe he's forgotten. You really trust yourself enough to put everything else at risk?"

"I trust myself enough to know that I won't put everything at risk. I know how I work, and how I think. He's problem solving. He would have stopped to explain, maybe, but we barely gave him the chance."

"Fine. This conversation is almost irrelevant at this point. Let's catch him first, then we will give him a chance," Bruce said, offering his hand.

Clark took it. "Fine by me."

By the time Clark and Bruce returned to the conference room, most of the other Leaguers had left. Only Wally, Diana and J'onn were there, discussing the final details of their battle plans and worst case scenarios.

"You two talked it out?" Diana asked, half-smiling.

Bruce nodded. "He is heading for Oa, isn't he?"

"Perceptive as always, Bruce," J'onn said, smiling wryly.

"How did you figure it out?" Wally asked. "And don't just say that you are Batman."

"Clark just said that the other guy was last seen near the White Lantern in the Earth's core. If I were him, Oa would be the next place on my wish list."

"Hal has already contacted Kyle and John," Diana explained. "They are forming a planet wall pretty soon."

"Good luck to them," Bruce said, heading towards the main teleporter. "I will be returning back to the cave. I am not going to be much use in space. You can always reach out if you need me."

Diana nodded. Bruce returned a nod, before disappearing from the room in the next instant.

"Well, now that Mr. Killjoy is out of here, what's the actual plan, Clark?" Wally asked. Clark could see the lines of genuine concern forming across his cheeks. "We can't beat him, right?"

"I don't know, Wally. But we will try, if we have to."

"Yeah. But he's you. And you know us better than anyone else. I mean, remember the time Ra'as Al Ghul almost got the drop on us? This is like that, but about a million times worse."

Clark sighed. He realized, finally, what Luthor saw when he looked at him. That fear, that worry, based on the idea that at the end of the day, Superman was too human. And that one day, Superman will turn on everyone else if he had a bad day, or even a bad life.

Bruce saw that in Clark everyday, but he trusted Clark against his better judgement. And Clark knew that, for better or worse, his teammates trusted him too. For now.

"We will figure something out, Wally," Clark said, putting his arm around Wally's shoulders. "We always do. You should join Barry, see what's he doing to prepare."

Wally nodded, smiling. "What a day though, right? Let's hope this ends before Linda starts missing me. We were kinda in the middle of a second honeymoon actually."

"Ohh, that's nice. Where did you go?"

"New Genesis, actually. Orion is babysitting the twins. It's going about as well as you would expect."

"Right. You know what, I will talk to Lois about it, see if she would be up for a trip there. It's been a while since she saw Linda and the kids too, so that will be nice."

"Look at you, Clark," Wally said, smiling broadly. "You are finally talking about vacations. When was the last one you took, actually?"

"Fiji, I think. Lois didn't like it there though. Cityrat and all that."

"Right," Wally said, limbering as he prepared to run again. "See you there at Oa, man."

Wally was gone in a streak of red lightning, and J'onn followed him shortly after. Diana, however, was eyeing Clark in the way that few others could.

They were together, a few years ago. In those few months, Diana had learned to see through Clark's facades.

"You are going to take the scenic route there, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Clark said, dimpling. "Need to take preparations of my own. You will be okay?"

"Yeah. I will be. I used to be the Goddess of War, remember?"

"Oh yeah. That was not a good look for you though."

"Speak for yourself, Clark. The helm was very, very cool. Give me a minute."

Diana walked into the armory, grabbing her shield and sword. She was still smiling when she came back to the conference room. "You think you can make it to the Planet before noon?"

"Maybe, let's see. I am supposed to leave for Colombia today, so don't have much stuff on my hand."

"That's good," Diana said. She looked at him earnestly. "He's not you, Clark. Don't project your worries into his head. This is just another job. Just another Wednesday."

Clark nodded. "Yeah. Just another Wednesday."

"See you at Oa, you big oaf."

Diana walked into the teleporter, waving at Clark as she vanished from the room.

Diana was right. This was a Wednesday. But it was the longest Wednesday in Clark's life.

He only hoped that it won't get any longer.


	6. 9:04 AM

9:04 AM

Bill Batson dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, grabbing his empty tray as he exited the cafeteria. His bones creaked, echoing forlornly with his every other step. The years hadn't been kind to him. His body had started falling apart shortly after he retired from superhero business.

What did he really have left, after seven decades of superheroism? His work skills were nonexistent. He hadn't gone to school since he dropped out in eighth grade. He was too old to work with his hands.

He had found some decent work as a librarian in the Queens library. He always did like books, and getting lost in their worlds. It wasn't easy getting the job, but it was worth it.

On his way back to the front, Bill saw that a doe-eyed kid was stuck in the comic book section, eyeing a stack of Captain Marvel books high on the shelf. Bill smiled.

"Here, let me get that for you," Bill said, grabbing the books. He lead the boy to the reading section, putting the books gingerly down on a table. "These are a little old for you, aren't they?"

"Yeah. But I am doing a project for school, so I need to go through, like a ton of these."

"Sounds like a lot of hassle."

"Not really. These are actually pretty cool. Corny, but cool. I mean, we all know Dr. Sivanna was a lot more dangerous in real life, but he just keeps talking about his evil plans instead of offing the Marvels once and for all. It's pretty funny."

Bill chuckled. He had to give the guys at DC some major props. He didn't think that a bunch of Jewish kids could make a war hero and a member of the Justice Society goofy enough for the kids, but they pulled that off pretty well.

"You look pretty old, mister. Tell me, do you know if Captain Marvel really used to say holey moley?"

"Is that too hard to believe?"

"That sounds like a pretty dumb thing to say."

Bill frowned. Kids were hard to please these days.

"Well, I will leave you to figure out your schoolwork, kid. Check these out with me in the front if you need to take them home."

The kid nodded, already immersed between the aged, yellowish pages.

By the time Bill returned to his place, however, there were two men waiting for him. It was Elijah Snow, dressed in his bespoke white overcoat, accompanied by a rather reluctant Freddie Freeman. And by the looks on their faces, neither of them bore any good news.

"If you come by like this in my place of work, Snow, then things must be pretty much dire," Bill said, barely caring enough to hide the vitriol in his tone.

"They are, old man. We need you to come back."

"I hung up my cape for a reason. Don't think bringing Freddie out here like this is going to make me change my mind."

"Look, Bill," Freddie began, hand scratching his stubble. "I wouldn't be here if we didn't need every last heavy we could find. And you are as heavy as they come. You killed the High, for God's sake."

"Thanks for reminding me about that," Bill said gravely. Fighting the High was something he never wanted to do, but his hand had been forced.

"I know you miss Mary, Bill. We all do. But we need to put aside our past here. We are fighting for the future."

"Alright. Can it wait ten more minutes? That's when my shift ends."

Snow and Freddie looked at each other, both of them sighing. "Age hasn't been kind to you, has it?" Snow asked, fidgeting with his lighter.

"Not all of us are Century Babies like you, Snow. Anyways. Where are we heading out anyways?"

"It's space, Bill. It's in Oa. We will be hitching a ride with some...mutual acquaintances."

"Space? Well, that will be a change. I haven't been there since the seventies."

"It's space, Batson. It's a whole bunch of blackness, signifying nothing. Except the brief forms of activity that constitutes life."

Bill nodded. He set a timer for ten minutes, pointing the other two to take their seats by a nearby table. In those next ten minutes, Bill solved the crossword puzzle and indexed the new books that had arrived two days earlier. Once he was done, he motioned the other two to follow him, greeting his replacement with a charming smile.

Once he was around fifty yards away from the front entrance, he stopped, looking to see if anyone was watching. Once he was sure that wasn't the case, he shot Freddie a hard look.

"Alright. The words. We say them together."

"You spoke my mind."

"SHAZAM!"

Twin bolts of lightning struck Bill and Freddie, and when the smoke cleared, two Captain Marvels stood in there place. Freddie whistled as he surveyed the form of the original Captain Marvel, who appeared middle aged, while Freddie still looked like he was in his mid twenties.

"You don't look a day over 102, Bill."

"Shut up, smart mouth. I am still stronger than you, as you probably remember."

"Yeah, yeah," Freddie turned towards Snow, who was as nonplussed as ever. "Snow?"

"Oh, you are done with your gloating? Sorry, I drifted off for a moment there. Door."

Elijah Snow walked in through the yellow portal that appeared in front of him, prompting the Captain Marvels to do the same.

"Freddie, tell me one thing. Does holey moley really sound dumb?"

"You don't want to hear the answer to that, Bill. We already have a Superman to fight against. I don't want to add your ego to that list."

Bill grumbled. "Kids these days."

* * *

"You ever wonder, John, if the universe was kinda messed up from the start?" Kyle Rayner asked. He and John Stewart were floating above Oa, overseeing the construction of a massive green lantern-powered energy wall, staggered with intricate designs.

"I don't have to wonder, Kyle. I know the universe was messed up from the start. It's why we have to deal with literal existential threats every other Tuesday."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, what if the universe was never supposed to work out? What if all of this was just a experiment to see how long it took for things to fall apart?"

"You are saying the universe is a crash test dummy for God, is that it?"

"Kinda. And it's like, every other universe is filled with just that different kind of chaos. You remember that one time we had to fight Nekron and the Black Lanterns? What if, in another universe, something even worse happened? What if we are the flukes? And everywhere else is turning out monumentally shitty."

"It's not that fine and dandy here anyways. What's got you in such a dour mood?"

"Nah, I was just wondering out loud. You forget that I used to be a comic book artist. I worked on some very, very dark stuff. That's kind of what losing two girlfriends to supervillains does to you.

"I see where you are coming from, Kyle. At the end of the day, we are just space cops. We catch war criminals and dictators. I don't know how we ended up fighting a rogue Superman who apparently punched a narrative engine in the gut."

"Well, guess we can ask him that question in person. Look."

Kyle pointed to the red blip flying towards them, leaving a meteor-like trail in its wake. The Green Lantern Corps steadied, and held its ground. Mogo the Planetary Lantern surged ahead, becoming the vanguard for Oa's defense.

Mogo blanketed the incoming Superman with a barrage of willpower energy. Superman, for his part, retaliated with a widerange heat blast from his eyes, the beams breaking straight through Mogo's line of fire. With Mogo momentarily distracted, Superman plowed straight through his core, hitting the sentient planet at just the right spot to knock it unconscious.

"That's...new," Kyle said, observing Superman's handiwork. "Never saw Mogo get knocked out before."

"Less admiring, more defending, Kyle," Stewart barked, morphing a highly complicated alien rifle into an even more complex form.

"Sir, yes, sir."

Thousands of beams of green light shot towards Superman, wildly differing in shape, swatting at the man with relentless fury. But Superman pushed back, and as his eyes grew red, the Lanterns braced for impact.

The battle between the Superman and the Green Lantern Corps had begun in earnest. And Kyle was damned if he had any idea about how it was going to go for both parties concerned.

* * *

The Titans and Young Justice were en route to Oa, their spaceship steadily accelerating past light speed. It would still be some thirty minutes before they caught a draft of the hyperspace residue that would catapult them to dizzying speeds.

There was still some time before they found Superman.

"Korri, you know any good prayers?"

Koriand'r, also known as Starfire, looked at Conner, curiosity dancing in her purple eyes. "I never figured you for a believer, Conner."

"I am not. I literally came from a bottle. I wasn't supposed to exist. No room in religion for that kind of asterisk."

"But you are afraid that this Superman is too big for us?"

"You weren't there with Clark when he heard the news, Kori. It hit him harder than anything he ever faced. Harder than Doomsday or Darkseid. You don't realize, that this is probably his worst nightmare come to life.

You know how the world has been so peaceful for the last couple of years? It's because we stepped up. It's because Superman stepped up. His death, and then Bruce dying and coming back. Barry dying and coming back. Even Bart there doing the resurrection thing."

"Hiii! I will join you guys later," Bart said from the next row of seats, stuffing his face with cheese puffs. "too busy eating."

"Also, can I mention that I am very thankful about you not mentioning my name, Conner?" Donna Troy said, relief flooding into her features. "Dying isn't a fun activity. Wouldn't recommend it."

Conner waved at Bart and Donna, before returning to his point. "The thing is, Superman works round the clock to keep everything safe. He isn't young anymore, no matter what he looks like. Bruce is getting up there in the years too. We are supposed to take up after them, right?"

"Yes. And we are doing a good job with it so far. You have seen futures where you, Tim and Damian take after your fathers' roles. That stuff isn't easy, but it's not as hard as it looks."

"Clark isn't really my father, more of an older big brother. But yeah. I mean, we do alright jobs in the future, I guess. But a 200 year old Clark that's still Superman? Do you understand how monumentally screwed his world must be?

Clark Kent was never supposed to do this superhero thing all his life. He just picked it up one day because it seemed like the right thing to do. But he isn't really Kal-El, like the world sees him. He works his real job at the Planet. He is really good at it, too.

This Superman's here, Kori, because he needs to be. And he is here, when he should be dead or retired. If he can survive 200 years of who knows what out there, then he can probably take the best offense we can dish out."

"Maybe. But he's still a mortal, Conner," Kori explained. "That 200 year lifespan isn't normal for humans. Maybe it is for Kryptonians, but we will never really know that."

"Actually, Kryptonians have this unspoken rule where they freeze themselves if they reach a hundred or so years," Kara said, peeking her head from behind Conner's seat. "Life gets pretty boring when almost everyone you know isn't...there anymore."

"Thanks, Kara. You see, Conner? For once, we aren't fighting some demon from hell or a cosmic conqueror from the Fourth World. We are fighting a tired old man, whose luck is probably running out.

If anyone needs prayers, Conner, I think it's probably him."

Conner nodded softly. He couldn't beat that logic.

The spaceship accelerated rapidly, latching on to the hyperspace trail it had just found. As it disappeared from the third dimension, Conner hoped that Kori was right. For everyone's sake. Even that Superman's.

* * *

Kyle waited. It wasn't an easy wait.

Superman was methodically breaking past every line of defense. For anyone else, it would have taken 50 years. For Superman, it was taking 90 minutes, at most.

He had already disarmed or deactivated over 2000 Green Lanterns. Of course, that wasn't even close to the number of Lanterns who were there at Oa, but this was the most one-sided battle Kyle had ever seen. And given his work history, that was something truly impressive.

He had already taken out Kilowog and Boodika. John was carrying out periodic excursions, using moments when Superman was gassed to land sneaky hits. Kyle wasn't sure if this tactic was working, but it was at least something.

"How long do you think he will last?" he asked John, once he was back by Kyle's side.

"Easily another hour or two. He's fighting smart. Not that Clark doesn't, but he never really has to. This one, he is fighting like he was Bruce with superpowers."

"How can we drain him? Do you think Red Sun radiation or solar vampires would work?"

John looked at Kyle as though he had said something impossible. "You want to conjure up an entire Red Sun to drain Superman?"

"Why not? It will definitely put our imagination to the test. Besides, we have around 5000 minds to work with. I am sure we will come up with something good."

"The hubris in you, Kyle. I forget that you are an artist."

"Please, you used to be an architect. Building a sun isn't that much different than building a skyscraper. It's just the material that's different."

"Alright. I will start talking with as many people as I can. I just hope we have a couple of astrophysicists in the Corps."

"I am sure you will find them. I will get started working on the solar vampires thing. Is there an official name for them?"

"Coronavores, I think."

"Right. Coronavores."

When Kyle thought of that name, he saw in the corner of his mind an inexplicable image of wild monsters downing gallons and gallons of Corona Light beer. It wasn't a pretty sight.

What he was going to create, however, were even worse.

Kyle pictured starving, hungry monsters, their sterile white bodies filled with dozens of little mouths, evolved to drain sunlight, wherever it came from. He envisioned nebulous, shapeshifting limbs, which can stretch and morph depending on the needs of the monsters. He pictured diamond-strong skin and teflon-like sinews.

With these (and a million other) details, Kyle breathed life into a pack of coronavores, which sprouted full formed from his power ring. His new pack of bloodhounds by his side, Kyle charged at Superman, willpower flowing through his every pore.

"Hi Clark. Long time no see."

Superman turned his head, swatting aside three other Lanterns, blocking their blasts with practiced ease. "Hi Kyle. Haven't you seen in the last fifty years."

"Fifty? Aren't you supposed to be, like, two hundred?" Kyle said, maintaining his distance while the coronavores went to work. "Are you saying I get to live to like, 150?"

"No, probably not. I meant that I saw one of you, Kyle. This isn't my first rodeo with the Lanterns."

Kyle's expression darkened. "How many times have you done this, Clark?"

"I don't know. More times than I would care to count. And you can call me Kal, Kyle," Superman said, wrestling with one of the coronavores as it sucked the sunlight out of him. "No one really calls me Clark anymore."

"On account of everyone else being dead?"

"Very astute. That's one way of putting it."

Kal drove his fist deep into the gut of a coronavore, twisting it hard. "You swapped out the organs of these coronavores when you designed them, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I am going up against a Superman here. I am allowed to cheat as much as I want."

"Fair enough. That means I am allowed to cheat too."

Superman zoomed past the Coronavores, who gave chase, shooting tendrils onto his back, draining him of sunlight in record speed. He struggled, his speed slowing slightly, but it was still fast enough to bring him face to face with Kyle.

"Good idea, Kal, but I am not exactly defenseless either," Kyle said, referring to the micron thin energy shield emanating off his being. "'Willpower is a pretty cool weapon, huh?"

Clark grabbed hold of Kyle's hands, rapidly closing them into fists. He pressed them tight, exerting as much force as he could against the power ring's energy.

"Kal, stop. You can't do this all day. You can kill me if you want to. But I can tell you don't really want that."

"I don't have to kill you, Kyle," Superman said, gritting his teeth, the color continuing to drain from his features. "Not when I can do this."

Superman smashed the green barrier, his hands digging directly into Kyle's knuckles. For a moment, Kyle felt as though as he was caught like a deer looking at headlights. Then the moment passed, and Superman crushed all ten fingers with one firm push.

Kyle screamed, his body succumbing to pain as his power ring flew off his lifeless fingers. The coronavores disappeared instantly. Superman grabbed Kyle by the neck, gazing fiercely into his eyes.

"Tell the others to stand down. I am only here for the Power Battery."

Superman threw Kyle towards the rest of the Lanterns. Kyle sailed straight for a mile before John raced to his aid, catching him with a gigantic oven mitt.

"On a scale of one to ten, that was a negative infinity," Kyle said, yelping as John performed first aid on his broken fingers. "He said he wants the Central Power Battery, John."

"At the rate he's going, he might as well have it."

Kyle winced as his fingers straightened and healed, bone by bone and muscle by agonizing muscle. "Do you think we should we let him have it?"

"Let's see if your crazy idea works or not."

Five thousand lantern rings acted in unison, focusing a unidirectional beam of willpower on Superman. The beams set of a chain reaction, igniting stellar fusion, a gas of swirling mass taking form in the center. A million years of stellar evolution passed in an instant, as the gas ballooned to gigantic proportions, turning yellow green and before turning dark green.

"It's not exactly a red sun, and not as big as an actual sun, but eh I will take it," Kyle said, whistling.

Superman screamed, struggling to escape the eye of the storm. But he was caught in the middle of a rapidly expanding core, catching the brunt of the simulated red sun radiation. The new star was exerting its own gravity, starting to pull nearby Lanterns in.

"Everyone, stay clear of the new sun!" John shouted, flying away with Kyle in arms. "If this works, Kyle, I am probably recommending you for a promotion."

"Thanks for the vote in confidence, chief. You know, what would they great? If the Justice League and everyone from Earth arrived at just the right time."

"The right time? This stunt is going to drain everyone's juice in five minutes. So yeah. It would be really, really great if everyone arrived, like...just about now."

Unfortunately, the Justice League didn't arrive at Oa in the next moment. Or the moment afterwards.

* * *

No, they arrived a whole thirty minutes later.

"You seeing this shit out there, Cassie?" Conner said, looking out of his window at the sea of Green Lanterns floating across Oa's orbit. "It's like a scene out of a Michaelangelo fresco or something."

Cassie nodded gravely. "J'onn, you sensing him?"

"Yes. He's on Oa right now. Fighting with the current carrier of the Ion being, Sodam Yat. Everyone else is...not available."

"Christ," Bart said. "Well, what can I say. This is what we signed up for."

It took another nine minutes for the spaceships to land near the Power Battery. By that time, Superman was already done bearing Sodam Yat into unconsciousness. He was battlescarred and drained of energy, but he was still standing.

The Flashes were the first people to reach Superman. They struck together, synching their punches to reach maximum resonance, connecting with Superman's jaw with nigh infinite momentum. Superman's jaw swung back, a squirt of blood losing free from his nose.

"Barry. Wally. Stop. I am almost there," Superman pleaded. "The Power Battery is right there. We don't need to do this anymore."

"Tell that to all the Lanterns you just fought, you schlag," Hal shouted, swinging a big fist at Superman's jaw. Simon and Jessica joined him, and along with the Flashes, they pounded the beaten and battered Kryptonian as hard as they could.

Conner watched as the Justice League, Stormwatch and Captain Marvels lead the charge, flying and running at Superman in a single file. Even Kara flew in, hitting him with a mean haymaker before laying into him with a heat vision onslaught.

Conner stood and watched. The Captain Marvels called in their lightning a dozen times, weakening Superman even further. Wonder Woman wrapped Superman in her lasso, bashing his head in with her shield.

And so it continued, for what seemed like hours on end; but Conner checked his watch, and saw that it had only been fifteen minutes.

One by one, the Justice League and Stormwatch fell. Superman knew them too well. He used Apollo to recharge his solar energy reserves, if only slightly. He tripped Barry, spraining his ankle, and Wally, he trapped in the Speed Force (but only for an hour or so, he promised). He forced a lightning strike to hit one of the Captain Marvels, turning him back into an ordinary man. The other, older Captain Marvel hit Superman the moment after, sending the Kryptonian flying. Superman hit the base of the Power Battery, cracking it slightly.

"Now would be a good time to pitch in, Kon," Kara said, grunting as she landed near Conner.

"What's the use? We are barely doing any damage. He is winded, yeah, but it took the whole Green Lantern Corps to do that."

"I thought you were the one who was all about never giving up? What happened to that?"

"I died, Kara. That changes your perspective on a lot of things. Give me some time. I am looking for openings."

"Oh. Sorry, I forget sometimes that you have half of Luthor in you too. Alright, take your time, but not too much, right?"

Conner waited, studying Superman minutely. He used his lifetime of understanding and knowing Superman, seeing if that helped him crack this future version's defenses. It did, but he still didn't see if there was any way to stop the man for good. He was driven by something greater- and more important- than himself. He wasn't going to stop, not as long as he lived.

As Conner waited, Stormwatch upped its offense, using precise tactics to evade and confound Superman. This was a newer team, lead by Jenny Quarx instead of Jack Hawksmoor, and so their strategies were new as well. But the fact that Superman took this long to fight them off bore grave tidings for them as well. It meant that this team wasn't meant to last the tides of time. Or otherwise, Superman would have counteracted them easily as well.

Leo Quintum's strange ship arrived a few minutes later. He landed a bit further than the League or Stormwatch did, carrying a huge tablet, flanked on both sides by Deena and Heelo. He approached the fight with the same caution Bear Grylls does when he approaches a Nile Crocodile.

"Aren't you supposed to be fighting as well, Superboy?" Leo asked, recording the fisticuffs from a safe distance. "You could be the one to tip the scales."

"Appreciate the vote of confidence. I am waiting for something. You shouldn't have come though. It's dangerous out here, in case you didn't notice."

"That's what makes it so exciting though! We don't get to see these things happen anymore. It's all a bit boring."

"Boring? How?"

"Well, we ended up conquering our base natures. And then we didn't need superheroes to save us all the time anymore. That eventually took care of the villain problem too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's actually fascinatingly similar to what your time's Lex Luthor is talking about. You know, with Humans First."

Conner groaned. He was liking the future less and less with every passing second.

And then he heard it. A cracking sound, like thunder, followed by the largest whoosh he had heard in the day so far. Conner looked up, and he saw Clark landing, his body glowing a bright blue, clothed in his old white and blue containment suit. His eyes glowed blue as well, and the only thing really recognizable about the man was his goddamned smile.

"Did you really do what I think you did?" Conner yelled, his pulse pounding.

"If you mean taking a trip to Rigel to supercharge my cells, then yeah. That's what I did."

"You are an idiot, Clark. The others have it mostly under control. You didn't need to literally bring your lifespan down by a decade for this fight."

"Relax. This will wear off after a couple of hours. Enough to deal with... whatever is going on here.

I guess you are looking for an opening, Conner. Stay focused. It's coming up right now."

Clark charged at Kal, shoving the older man clean through the sea of superheroes strewn across the battlefield. Superboy joined his side, still reluctant to throw a punch.

"You know, I was wondering where you were, Clark," Kal said, grinning half-heartedly, trading blows with his younger counterpart. "You too, Kon. Why didn't you hit me yet?"

"I don't know if I need to."

"Yeah. You don't need to. I think Clark has a plan. We will be okay."

Kara joined their side seconds later, livid. "You guys are not doing this, are you?"

"Doing what, Kara?" Clark asked, straining as he continued to push Kal towards the battery. "You have to be more specific."

"Helping him, Kal! Have you lost your mind?"

"This will be over pretty soon. Or at least, we will be elsewhere. You can join us if you want to."

Kara looked quizzically at Conner. "You know what he's talking about?"

"Not really. But I am trusting him. And you should too."

Kara's expression darkened, before relaxing slightly. "You better be right about this."

With a grunt, Clark slammed Kal against the crack in the battery, widening it even further. "I am sure you have 4D vision too. Now would be a good time to use it. That opening. Strike it."

Kal nodded. "Thank You."

Kal punched the cracked wall. And then it widened in the weirdest of ways. A sheet of whiteness overwhelmed everything, enveloping all four of the Kryptonians. When the whiteness disappeared, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Tell me that just didn't happen," Wally said, skidding to a stop by the Power Battery. "That's just anticlimactic as hell."

"Tell me about it," Jenny Quarx said, taking out her cigarette packet and lighter. "But you know what? I will take it. This is almost as good as a win."

"But it's not a win," Diana said, sheathing her sword. "All this did is transport the problem elsewhere."

"It's not our problem anymore, Wonder Woman," Jenny replied, inhaling deeply before exhaling smoke. "And Thank God for that."

"What about the Supers, though?" Bill Batson asked, rubbing his neck.

"Who knows? But hey, at least they can handle themselves. If you want to find out what happened to them, I suggest waking up some of these Lanterns and Guardians."

Wally groaned. "Good idea, that. Stick around kid."

"Sure. It's not like I have anything more to do."

Jenny floated up into the sky, surveying the wreckage across the planet. "What a waste of a good Wednesday.

I was really, really looking forward to that bubble bath too."


	7. 11:09 AM

_11:09 AM_

After Clark opened his eyes, he saw something that confounded him to no degree.

He saw a golden Chocobo standing in front of him, staring at him curiously, chirping. Then, inexplicably, a lean, young man with blood spiky hair sneaked up on the Chocobo, jumping up on its back, strapping a harness around its neck.

The Chocobo squawked and struggled, but eventually gave way, heeding the commands of the spiky haired man as he guided it towards greener pastures. A triumphant, 8 bit tune blared throughout the area, as though it was streaming through invisible speakers.

"Hello There!" a pleasant voice greeted him and the others, and then it waited, breathing calmly.

Superboy rolled his eyes. "General Kenobi?"

A badly CGIed cyborg with six arms burst through the sky, landing in front of them with a lightsaber drawn with each hand.

"I forgot that memes are still a thing in your time," Kal pointed out, chuckling.

The cyborg morphed, turning into an ordinary looking man dressed in extraordinary clothes: he was adorned in purple robes and a black jacket, which was a very odd combination too.

"I know that was random, but I basically came up with that entrance on the spot. I just hope that everyone gets that reference."

"I didn't," Kara raised her hand, dumbfounded.

"That's because you outgrew video games on Argo City, silly. As for introductions, I am Cxyftlzk. A fifth dimensional being who also moonlights as a Monitor. Because there aren't many of them around nowadays.

We really need fix that sooner or later. That way I can go back to doing, like, a real job or something."

Clark looked towards Kal. "Is this who you were looking for?"

"Yes. Not exactly him, but close enough."

"No one really expects me, but hey, here I am. I was almost tempted to use a Spanish Inquisition joke but I doubt the person reading this knows what Monty Python is.

If you do, sorry, my bad."

"The reader?" Conner asked.

Kara groaned audibly, facepalming. "This is one of those metanarrative things."

"I won't keep you guys long. Meta narratives are cool, but they aren't so cool that I can carry a whole chapter like this. Follow me."

Cxyftlzk walked ahead as a path assembling in front of him, leading upwards. As he walked through a door- that also appeared just at that moment- a chorus of Stairway to Heaven played for the briefest moments.

"Isn't it nice, these random references? Whoever says that fanfiction doesn't have its perks?"

Kara patted Conner on the shoulder. "It gets easier if you kinda ignore him most of the time. I remember the time Mxyptlyk lectured me about third wave feminism, and then he started going on about why the fourth wave was even worse."

"That is quite strange,"Cxyftlzk said, tutting. "Poor old Mxy must have quite the pat with his wife. Now that's a dragon lady, I tell you."

Cxyftlzk held the door open, ushering the others inside. It looked like the inside of what you would expect a millennial startup to look like.

"Yes, yes. Bean bags, bean bags everywhere. Thankfully we had the good sense to get a table and a laptop too. Otherwise we would never get any work done."

Another man was waiting by the lone table. He smiled broadly, walking with strong, jubilant strides as he shook Clark's hand vigorously. "My God. I have always wanted to do that."

"He has," Cxyftlzk said, taking a seat by the table. "He wrote that you were a better idea than the nuclear bomb, you know. What are you calling yourself right now, by the way?"

"Do I really need a name? I am more of a special guest than anything else."

"Yes, you need a name. It makes writing about you a lot more easier. Humor the poor man, would you?"

The bald man sighed. "Fine. Call me Wizard, if you will."

"That's a weird first name. But it will do," Cxyftlzk said. "Now let's get down to business. Come, come, take your seats."

The two Supermen sat on two bean bags opposite Cxyftlzk and Wizard, while Conner and Kara sat a bit further away, in an area that looked suspiciously close to a lobby. There was a chalk drawing of a television in the wall opposite to them, and a cardboard remote was lying in front of it.

Conner picked it up, clicking the power button. The wall television turned on, displaying a pristine image of what was going on right now on Oa.

"Hey, at least they are doing alright," Conner said.

"Now then. We get two Supermans for the price of one," Cxyftlzk stated, grinning surreptitiously as he leaned closer. "Think of this like an interview. If you do well, then the older one gets to go on his own merry way. If you don't, well..."

Cxyftlzk snapped his fingers, and a opening appeared on the wall behind him, parting middle way to reveal a gruesome sight. Imperiex was fighting an army of Supermen and Ultramen, and he was winning. Rather soundly too.

"Let's just say this isn't the first interview that we have gone through," Cxyftlzk said.

"I have a question though," Kara said. "Why did Wizard react like he saw Kal for the first time?"

"I am quite theatrical, my dear. I often react in very dramatic ways. You should read some of my writing some time."

"First question. It's not really a question, but more of a statement. You are both from the doomed planet Krypton, I suppose?"

Both Supermen nodded.

"When did Krypton explode?"

"30 years ago."

"200 million years ago."

Clark looked at Kal, gasping. "How?"

"The vessel I was sent onboard on could only reach subliminal speeds. It took a while for me to get to Earth."

"You were both raised by Ma and Pa Kent?"

"Yes," Clark replied. Kal nodded in agreement.

"How did you feel about Pa Kent dying?"

"I felt powerless," Clark said. "I have all this powers, but I couldn't get there on time. By the time I got to the site of the accident he was already gone."

"He passed away in peace. I was out of the planet, sightseeing. It was the summer after I graduated college. He died when he was gardening. Heart attack. Nothing I could do. Even if I was there."

"Were you there at the funeral?" Wizard asked.

"Yes. I barely got there on time."

"How did you meet Lex Luthor?"

"In Kansas. He was there one summer," Clark said. "He was trying to rediscover his roots. We clicked right away. But even then, I could tell there was a darkness in him. A mean streak that he just couldn't let go."

"We met in Harvard," Kal said. "Lex was the only one who could keep up with me. He wanted to save the world, and he was one of the few people I could talk to about that stuff, at that age. We have been friends ever since."

Conner whistled. "Look at that, Clark. You could have gone to Harvard too, if you wanted it."

"That's the thing though. I don't think he wanted it," Kara noted.

"How was the Justice League formed?"

"After Brainiac attacked, the last remnants of the Justice Society were dead or retired," Clark explained. "Me, Batman and Wonder Woman got the others together, and just like that, we were fighting Starro one evening. We didn't look back after that."

"J'onn warned us about the Martians," Kal said. "We fought them, and beat them. Pretty handily too. It occurred to us afterwards that such attacks might happen again. And they did. So we got together a couple of months later."

"When did you get married?"

"Five years ago. In the Schuster Chapel. Happiest day of my life."

"It was in...2009, I think?" Kal said, massaging his temple. "I was thirty then. A good age. Lois looked happy that day."

"How many children do you have?"

"None, as of now."

"Three. Jon, Kara and Mary."

Clark stared at Kal, smiling widely. But inside, his heart was wrenching.

"What happened to your children, Kal?" Wizard asked, scratching his chin.

"They died. Like everyone else."

"Did they die all at once?"

"No. Jon died because he was shot with a Kryptonite bullet. Damian did it."

"Damian isn't the most well behaved kid, but he would never murder anyone. He isn't like that anymore," Clark insisted.

"Maybe in your timeline. He was the Batman in my world. He took over after Bruce and Dick died.

Getting back to the question. Kara died fighting against Solaris, the Sentient Sun. Mary died during the Meta Plague. That was...painful. The skin peeled off her hands."

"When did your wife die, Kal?"

"She wasted away. Liver cancer. Lex did everything he could. At the end, it didn't matter."

"When did you stop being Clark Kent, Kal?" Cxyftlzk asked, his voice solemn and raspy.

"I don't remember. Over time, I forgot who Clark Kent was. And he wasn't... important anymore."

"Did that make things easier?" Wizard asked.

"Sometimes. But the truth is, it was never that easy. There were just good days and bad days.

I watched everything fall apart. It didn't matter how many times we put things back together, or how fast we did it. Humans... outgrew us. They outgrew the world we grew up in. They left Earth in search of better futures. But things never changed."

"Was it easy, though, when you took charge of things?"

"No. I never wanted to take charge. But things were pretty bad out there in space. The Rann-Thanagarian war. Brainiac's harvests. Darkseid looking for the anti-life equation.

They asked me to do it, one day. And at that point, I was too tired to say no."

"How many people did you kill, Kal?"

"57. Only the ones who wouldn't give up."

Clark grabbed hard on to the edge of the table, denting it.

"Don't be so quick to judge, Clark," Wizard admonished him. "I am sure the man had his reasons."

"I did. But there's never a good reason for killing someone."

"Well, at least he's got your morals, Kal, so that's that," Kara added dejectedly.

"Why are you here, Kal?" Cxyftlzk said, his expressions fraught with graveness.

"I am here to save my world."

"And what has happened to your world?"

"It's being wiped out of existence. By an ancient weapon from the Fourth World."

"Close, but no cigar," Wizard said. "Do you know what has actually happened to your world, Kal?"

"I suppose you are going to tell me."

"Oh yes. Injustice happened. Your story, while interesting, isn't really that unique. Good Supermen go wrong all the time. Why should we humor your request more than any of the others? Why should we help you save your world? I mean, Henry Cavill couldn't keep your franchise afloat. What are you going to do, really?"

"And don't say you are going to punch things really, really hard," Cxyftlzk added.

"I have been punching things very hard for the last forty years. That hasn't gotten me anywhere. But I am here right now. And that means, somehow, someway, I can get out of here, and get back to my home."

"Look, can I speak for him?" Clark asked. "Seeing as, technically, we are the same person."

"Well, you are here for a reason. So yes."

"I have been able to track him whole day, because I know how we thinks. I know what he feels. I know that he feels it's hard, but it doesn't have to be."

Clark looked at Kal sincerely, smiling. "I know that Lois is going to die. Every day I am with her is a blessing. But it can't be about Lois. It can't be about Jon, Kara and Mary. Superman has to be more than that. Superman is more that.

That shield on our chest, it stands for hope. The kind of hope that exists even in the darkest of places. We can't give up. And not because of the Dream, or Truth, Justice and the American Way. Superman doesn't exist because he was raised by Ma and Pa Kent. I am sure there are versions of us who grew up in gulags or somewhere in the Middle East.

Superman exists, because he needs to. And he will be there, as long as he is needed. You will win, Kal, because you are needed by your world. That's why you are still here, after all these years. Your world needs you, Kal, and you need to get there before long. And I will help you get there."

"Do you take it upon yourself, then?" Cxyftlzk asked. "The burden of his failures? The burden that he might fail, even after today, at the very end?"

"Yes. It's no added weight. I live with that burden everyday."

"Hmm. The plot thickens," Cxyftlzk said. He summoned a white paper and a stamp pad. "Here. You both need to sign this with your thumbs. I want to get this in writing. Superboy, Supergirl you need to sign too, as witnesses."

"What happens if we don't?" Kara asked, rising from her bean bag.

"You don't want to find out what happens."

"It's a fifth dimensional being, Kara," Conner said, rising as well. "Humor him."

Kara glowered for a moment before giving in. "Let's get this over with."

The four Kryptonians signed the paper, one by one. Cxyftlzk took the paper in his hands, grimacing, a hint of a devilish smile sitting patiently on the edge of his lips. "It's done then. Congrats."

Cxyftlzk shook the two Superman's hands vigorously. Wizard did the shame, grinning from ear to ear.

"That was great. Not as good as the classic Dream speech, but it's still pretty good. Oh look at me, getting carried away."

"This has been a fruitful partnership, Cxy," Wizard said, making a motion of tipping his hat. "Let's grab some coffee when this is over, what do you say?"

"Sure. I would have to change out of these clothes though. Too funky for a Starbucks."

Cxyftlzk looked at the four Kryptonians. Oh, you guys are still here? Off with you now. Away!"

Cxyftlzk waved his hands, and the Kryptonians found themselves disintegrating, their molecules breaking away as they teleported.

"Please don't take too long," Kara said. "I don't want to vomit with half a stomach."

Kal stared at Clark for one last time, smiling. And for once, it seemed as though the years had fallen away from his eyes. "Thank you, Clark. I will remember what you said."

Kal offered his hand, and Clark took it.

"I will, too, Kal. I will too."

* * *

It was almost 9 PM. And no one else was there.

Sinead glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her tears were almost dried, but the pain from her wrists was making it hard not to cry.

She slit her wrists thirty seconds ago. All she had to do was wait. It would all be over soon.

"Miss, I am sorry, but I have to come in."

A firm hand grabbed the door lock and twisted it, breaking it clean off. Superman walked in, understanding and remorse washing over his eyes.

He cauterized the cuts on Sineads wrists, who struggled weakly as he held her. "I am so tired. Please let me go."

"I am tired too. I can understand. What's your name, miss?"

"Sinead. Sinead Walsh."

"Miss Walsh, hang tight. We will be right there at John Hopkins in a few minutes."

Sinead felt woozy as Superman scooped her up, taking flight. He flew gingerly, speeding only in light bursts, cradling Sinead like she was a porcelain figurine.

"It's beautiful today? Isn't it?"

"It is. Especially the skies."

"Do you feel better now? I have slightly altered the dopamine and cortisone in your system. Things should feel lighter."

Sinead nodded weakly. She just wanted this to be over. She had fought hard enough, and she had enough of this world. There had to be a better place.

She did feel lighter though. Perhaps, that would be enough. For now.

"Doctors, this is Sinead Walsh," Superman said as he flew in through an open window. "I will get back to you in a minute with her ID and health insurance, if possible. Please help her."

Sinead was barely conscious then, but she saw Superman look at her with utmost sincerity before he left through the window. "I will be back, Sinead. I promise."

When Clark came back, however, he found someone else standing by Sinead's ward.

"You had a pretty long day, didn't you?" Luthor asked. His sleeves were rolled up, and he was drinking coffee.

"Yes, Lex. I suppose you are here to help, too?"

"In a manner of speaking. She made a rather public post on r/suicidewatch. It was easy to track her, especially when she lives in a house with so many screens and recorders. I figured you would stop by."

"You knew she was going to do that, and you did nothing. What else is new."

"What can I say, Kal El? I live to please. Enough about her though. She will be okay. I am here to talk about us."

"Haven't we talked enough about that?"

"Yes, we did. Didn't we? It's a pity that things always fall out between us. In my defense, I did try. But even when I was on the Justice League, we weren't close. Not really."

"Was there anything left to say? You were only really there for your own ends. Or for your own vanity. I don't know which is worse."

"Don't do that. Don't talk down to me as though I were some worm that you pity. That you choose not to crush. I am more than that. So much more."

Lex sighed, craning his neck away. "Look. I am not here to argue. We have been doing this for almost a decade. Today was... different. The other you, he actually trusted me for once. And that felt..."

"Nice?"

"It felt different. Perhaps, we can explore different paths as well. If not friendship, then at least better acquaintances."

"And how do you propose that?"

"Back me, Superman. Be my running mate. I am going to win the primaries anyways. But if we were together, we could do even more. We can change the world."

"I am not interested in politics, Luthor."

"Neither was I. But things change. Think over it. I can get some freshly grounded coffee in here too, if you want that."

Clark looked deep into Luthor's eyes. He wondered if this was another of his ploys. If so, then this was a very public way of going about it.

"I will get back to you in a few days. Let me know what coffee place you like. You aren't a Starbucks guy, that much I know."

"Yes, that much is obvious. I will send you a email," Lex said dryly. "By the way, you should have gotten a card or something. It looks more sincere."

"I know what I am doing, Lex," Superman said, walking past him. "I have known it for a long while."

"Yeah. I know. At least, you believe you do. That's what makes you so dangerous."

Clark smirked before walking away. This day was almost over, but it still had tricks up its sleeves.

* * *

"You okay there, Smallville?"

Clark looked at Lois, smiling warmly. They were at the airport, standing by the boarding area. Jimmy was there too.

"Yeah. Just tired."

"Rough day, huh Clark?" Jimmy said.

"I want to say yes, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy some of it."

"Enjoyed it, huh?" Lois shoved her elbow at Clark's sides, who winced at her jibe.

"Yeah. Well, day's almost done now. So not much use, dwelling on it."

"Hmm. You should get going too. Almost time for boarding."

"Yeah," Clark brought out his smartphone, opening the camera app. "Jimmy, could you take a photo of us? For me?"

"Sure, Clark."

"You can't take a selfie like the rest of us mortals, Smallville?" Lois asked, jeering.

"I guess I am just old fashioned."

Clark smiled widely, placing his hand around Lois, who smiled too, dimpling as she looked up into his eyes. Clark looked at her, taking in every aspect, every last bit of detail.

"This is it, huh? A month in Colombia. Don't pick too many fights with drug lords, alright?"

"I will try not to. You stay safe too."

"You know me. Safe is my middle name."

"Right, if that's true, then Queen of England's my middle name too," Jimmy said, ducking the glare Lois shot him. He returned Clark's phone, shaking his hand afterwards. "I will see you around, Clark. Bring some classy souvenirs this time, eh? None of that tacky, dollar store stuff."

"Will do."

Clark picked up his carry-on bag, heading towards the boarding queue. He waved at Lois and Jimmy, who waved back in return.

"Is your trip for business or pleasure?" the air hostess asked, smiling widely.

Clark smiled too. "It's a little bit of both."

* * *

5:06 AM

The sun was peeking out of the horizon. Time for Clark to get to work too.

He changed out of his clothes, taking only a moment to note the weather forecast. It was going to be cloudy, with small showers later in the day.

That worked for him.

He checked his surrounding rooms with x-ray vision, ensuring that everyone else was sleeping. Once he was convinced, he opened the windows and slipped past, floating a few hundred feet above ground, before leaping high into the air, a sonic boom sounding as he sped past the clouds.

Up, up and away.

He whistled Hall and Oates again as he ascended past the ionosphere. It was an old song, but what then again, he was old fashioned too.

Time to start a new day.


End file.
